Officials work to create temporary fix at deadly railroad crossing in Eaton

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A railroad crossing sign sits at the intersection where Kennedi Ingram was killed in a traffic crash involving a train Tuesday night in Eaton. Ingram is the second person in less than a year to die in a crash at the crossing.

Eaton residents may soon see a solution to a problem railroad intersection that has led to the deaths of two teens in the past year.

Eaton’s 5th Street railroad crossing was scheduled for renovations in the summer of 2019, with plans to install crossing arms at an intersection that has been the site of four accidents, two deaths and one injury in the past 10 years, making it the most dangerous railroad crossing in Weld County.

But after Eaton High School senior Kennedi Ingram’s death Tuesday, which followed Dallas Duran’s death last year, residents are demanding action.

“How many more kids have to die at that railroad crossing before somebody does something?” said Audrey Cagle, Eaton Area Chamber of Commerce board member.

Cagle’s group started a paper petition, complementing an online, change.org petition calling for safety fixes to the intersection. Thousands have signed on, and officials are listening.

Eaton Mayor Kevin Ross said the town will work with the Colorado Department of Transportation to get temporary flashing lights or warning lights in place within the next 30 days.

As for the permanent fix of installed crossing arms, Ross said CDOT and Union Pacific Railroad officials are doing everything they can to fast-track the process.

CDOT spokeswoman Amy Ford said the temporary fix can’t be in sooner because officials are still having conversations about what, exactly, the fix will look like, then materials must be ordered and installed and officials will need to figure out how to pay for it.

Ford said it’s likely CDOT and Eaton would split the cost of a temporary fix, although the final cost isn’t yet known. The permanent fix would be paid for through federal money set aside yearly for railroad crossing safety improvements, Ford said. CDOT officials couldn’t immediately provide a cost estimate for the permanent fix. Studies about such fixes in Greeley put the cost at $300,000-$500,000 to install arms at a railroad crossing.

If not for a late switch by the Highway 85 Coalition before it released its final plans for safety improvement throughout the corridor, Eaton could be even further away from a safe solution than it is now.

Weld County Road 72, which crosses the railroad tracks, was slated for crossing arms until officials decided to close the railroad crossing altogether.

Ross suggested moving the crossing arms to the 5th Street railroad crossing, and that suggestion was part of the final plan.

Union Pacific Spokeswoman Kristen South said the company is working on the preliminary engineering stage with CDOT on a final solution. Once agreement is reached, the Public Utilities Commission must approve the fixes, South said.

– Tyler Silvy covers government and politics for The Greeley Tribune. Reach him at tsilvy@greeleytribune.com. Connect with him at Facebook.com/TylerSilvy or @TylerSilvy on Twitter.